After more than twenty years in the punk scene with Blackbird Raum, Caspian Hollywell founded Twisted Teens in 2024, a new project created alongside Ramon Santos. This union has yielded a constant creative output: 3 years, 3 releases. In 2026, the New Orleans-based band maintains its annual production pace, solidifying the path forged by their self-titled debut, Twisted Teens (2024), and the EU EP (2025).
The sound of Blame the Clown follows the trail of its predecessors, overflowing with energy and chaos through an attitude as theatrical as it is combative—something evident from the album cover itself. Its opening track, “Is it real?”, acts as a manifesto that permeates the entire record; it relies on a blistering tempo and that characteristic gritty sound of the genre, though wrapped this time in a more polished production.
That bewilderment and existential doubt regarding the tangible resurface throughout the tracks, questioning what fraction of our experiences is authentic and how much is pure theater. To this end, they use the figure of the clown as a scapegoat who takes the blame for the whirlwind surrounding us—a whirlwind that we ourselves largely fuel.
The question posed in “Is it real?” finds its answer in “Not real.” On this track, the band embraces the idea that a certain portion of our life experience is purely illusory, suggesting that the mere act of recognizing this is an essential step toward maturity.
12 tracks, 30 minutes. Pure punk with country brushes.